65 in preservation

65 is one of those rarities.
She is not a Barry engine, but was withdrawn from service by BR, as 31065 36
years ago on the 24th June 1961. She had been condemned but not scrapped and
was in store at Ashford early in 1963, awaiting her fate. Rescue came in the
form of Mr Esmond Lewis-Evans, who arranged to secure the engine directly from BR. It would
seem that the connecting rods had already been cut, as a precursor to
scrapping, but on purchase this was remedied.

Scrap value was paid for the engine, and although the exact figure is not
available to me, the H class tank was bought 6 months later for about
£850 so you can reckon on a very similar figure. The idea was that 65
should run at the Ashford steam centre that was proposed, and indeed did so,
(this were the picture of 65 pulling Pullman carPhyllis was taken, at
the top of the page) but when the centre was closed, her fate became most
uncertain. Other engines such as C Class 592 dispersed to sites such as the
Bluebell Railway
but the O1, needing a general overhaul ended up on a private site in Kent. The
engine was split into rolling frames, boiler, and tender, and items such as cab
fittings etc. removed for restoration. Some limited progress was made, such as
the removal of the boiler tubes, but for the large part, no serious attempt at
restoration has been made for 20 years or so.

The tender shows how much of a throw back to Victorian times this engine
is, outside framed and exposed springs!

On a visit to the Bluebell during September of 1996, Mr Lewis-Evans had the
chance to view the Sheffield park locomotive works, and became receptive to a
proposal made to bring the engine there. Being 69 years old, Mr Lewis-Evans was
mindful of advancing time and the limited nature of his resources. Agreement
was made to bring the engine together again at Sheffield park, with a view to
immediate restoration. A good deal all round, and one that saves an engine for
all to enjoy, the last survivor of the South Eastern Railway.

The idea was to have the engine running for the 100th anniversary of the
amalgamation of the SER and LCD into the SECR in 1999. The engine is complete,
and there was, on initial inspection, no serious problem regarding engine
condition, which was remarkable considering the amount of time she had been
stood. Restoration progress was posted to
this site.

65 was something of a dinosaur even for British railways. the secret to her
amazing lifespan lays in her weight. Stirling, and later Wainwright had kept
the axle weight very low indeed. this was essential as the parsimonious SER and
later SECR, had permanent way that was lightweight to say the least. the end
result was that O1's could go places that many others could not. The 3 axles
from from to back took 13 ton 18 cwt, 14 tons 10 cwt, and 12 tons 13 cwt
respectively. this is amazingly low, and so very useful to a company like the
SECR and indeed the Southern later on.

The original O class can be seen here. they sport
Stirlings favoured domeless boilers and rounded cabs. compare that to the
rebuilt O1 version. Wainwright was in search of standardisation and rebuilt the
O by fitting the H class type boiler. This has a substantial dome of course,
and the boilers positioning necessitated the lowering of the front sandbox from
on top to underneath the running plate. The cab was standardised too, hence the
great similarity with the appearance of the C class. Bradley reports that the
change of cab was viewed as a step back by crews who though Stirlings rounded
affair offered superior protection from the elements.

The O1 was a goods engine, and was to be seen in the south east on
various turns, 65 being allocated to Ashford shed itself after the first war.

All 59 O1s made it to Southern stock. In the inter war years, 1065 could be
seen banking at Folkestone Harbour. As 31065 the O1 was back at Ashford.
Withdrawals were common throughout the fifties and by 1958, 31065 was one of
eight. A moment of glory came when, double headed with C class 592, she worked
the final service on the Hawkhurst branch. 13 days later, she herself was
condemned, after a very reasonable 66 years and 1,388,000 miles of service.